Joseph Lawrence Fiala, 82, passed away from this life on Wed, March 27, 2013 in Columbus where he resided at Wesley Glen for the last 4 years. He was the husband of Margaret, who preceded him on July 17, 2009. He was born 9-5-30 & raised in the Bohemian neighborhood on East Blvd in Cleveland. He attended Cathedral Latin H.S. & graduated in 1948, then joined the Air Force for 4 years, serving mostly at Carswell AFB, TX. Returning to Cleveland, he found work at NACA which became NASA at the Lewis Research Center. He furthered his education at John Carroll University night school, graduating in ’67. He worked on the Agena and Centaur rocket systems, and then helped to develop the first use of microwave communications from a satellite to a mobile ground station bus. He drove many miles from the rural northwest of the US to the UN in NYC demonstrating how people could talk and see each other in real time meetings with others in Washington, DC and other western countries.
He and his beloved wife, Margaret, were founding members of St. Bridget of Kildare Parish with Fr. Blair. They resided on Naomi Dr for over 52 years. He leaves behind to cherish his memory, his daughter, Monica Fiala Neville (Michael) of Bloomfield Hills, MI, and son, Joseph F (Mary Fristad) of Worthington. He was very caring & proud of his 4 grandchildren: Matthew and Mark Neville, Elise and Peter Fiala.
VISITATION AT THE ZABOR FUNERAL HOME, 5680 PEARL RD., PARMA (between Ridge and Snow) THURSDAY, APRIL 4, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial, Friday, April 5 at 10 a.m. at St. Bridget of Kildare Parish, with Fr. Rob Wisniewski presiding. Interment, Holy Cross Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to St. Bridget Parish in Joe and Marge’s name. He also wishes to thank the kind staff of Wesley Glen assisted living, health center and hospice who treated him with care, dignity and love in his last years.
To offer online condolences, please visit www.ZaborFH.com
Messages of Condolence
We have many wonderful memories of Uncle Joe and Aunt Marge at the annual Polenik pig roasts, which they always made the trip! They are both missed dearly. Thoughts and prayers with all of you.
Dear Monica and Joe,
Keith and I wish we could be there with you to celebrate your dad’s life. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. By the grace of God, we are all so fortunate to have many wonderful memories to rely on during these times. I miss your mom and dad and have not gotten over the habit of looking over the hedge for them whenever I’m home. I’m sure that urge will never go away; I always looked forward to seeing them during our summer trips home .Our love and prayers to you both and to your families. Keith and Char
I had the immense pleasure of serving Joe breakfast and lunch at Wesley Glen. He always made me laugh with the funny little things he would say and do. Everyday after work my little girls would ask me “what did Joe do funny today?”. I actually ended up taking them to Wesley Glen to meet him. He truly brightened my days in the short time I knew him. I really will miss him and he will always have a place in my heart.
Dear Fiala Family,
I just wanted to offer my sincere condolences for your loss. May the God of all comfort sustain you during this difficult time. I have also found the following promises to be comforting John 5:28,29 about the resurrection hope as well as Rev. 21:4 where God promises to do away with all the things that cause us suffering and pain including death forever. It is my sincere hope that these thoughts comfort your family as well.
Laura
my sincere condolences for the passing of a dear and friendly neighbor. We lived across the street on Naomi Dr and Joe was part of my growing up. Both of your parents and mine Jim and Mary Onda celebrated many happy events together as we lived in a very nice neighborhood. We will always share many memories , and do miss the kindness of a gentler time, my prayers are with you
My deepest sympathies
I worked with Joe on the Centaur launch vehicle electronic
systems. He was truly a great guy.
We always enjoyed talking with your parents when they came to Pa. I can remember when our son was auditioning for college at the Cleveland Institute of Music and we stopped in to visit them. Your father asked Eric to play something for him on the string base. They both enjoyed the music……. and, your Dad asked Eric several questions about the instrument and how it created the sound. I will always have memories of Uncle Joe smiling and wanting to how and why things work.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
We always looked forward to talking to Uncle Joe and Aunt Marge at the pig roast. He will be missed dearly! Our thoughts and prayers are with you!